The Stranger Among Us
by gemneely
Summary: Ciena and Ralof have been best friends since forever, but when Ralof goes off to join the Stormcloaks, there's no word from him for three months. Then, he unsuspectedly returns to Riverwood after Helgen has been attacked by a dragon. And he's not alone- he brought along a mysterious stranger, whose presence in Riverwood seems to have brought danger with her.
1. Intro I

**Yay! My first fanfiction on this website! The summary is really stupid and cheesy I realized but I'm bad at summaries -_- I'll write a new one eventually but anyways... These first two intros are kinda short, so I apologize in advance for that. And the first real chapter might be short. And the one after that. But the other's should be longer! But in the mean time, enjoy and review!**

"Wanna do something fun?" Ralof asked his best friend, Ciena.

"What do you mean?" The girl asked. Ralof smiled and grabbed her hand. He walked over to the edge of his family's yard. The boy pointed to the cow that was lazily grazing and pulled a piece of charcoal from his pocket. Realizing what he was about to do, Ciena grabbed the coal from his hands.

"Are you crazy? What if we get caught?" She asked, eyes wide with fear of the possibility, but there was also a hint of playfulness.

"C'mon, Ciena. You know you want to! We'll just distract the cow with some food and it won't even notice us drawing on it! My parents don't come back from the sawmill until late evening." Ralof pleaded, with his wicked grin he had when he was plotting a prank.

"Okay, fine. But what about Gerdur? She's such a tattletale..." Ciena started to get that worried look again and she bit her lip.

"She's not here, ma sent her to go to the market in Whiterun, and Sigrid went with her." The boy said, his grin wider.

The girl continued to bite her lip, thinking about it. Then, after a few moments, she smiled and grabbed a piece of charcoal out of her friend's hand. They both laughed and walked over to the cow.

* * *

"Ciena! Guess what I found by the river!" Ralof called for his friend, with a grin on his face and a slimy frog in his hand. He ran over to her family's house, and saw her sitting on the front steps. The prank-planning boy was about to speak, but he stopped immediately when he saw she was covering her ears and hiding her face.

"Ciena, what's wrong?" Ralof asked, letting the frog loose and sitting by his friend. Then he immediately heard what was wrong. Inside her house, Ciena's parents were arguing again.

It wasn't like usual, though, this argument was different. Ralof could hear the couple screaming, smashing glass, and crying. It continued for a few moments. Then, it stopped and was replaced by the sound of footsteps stomping towards the door. He and Ciena jumped up and moved away so they wouldn't get stepped on.

Then, the footsteps stopped and arguing started again. For a moment, it was just argument coming from the two Nords. Suddenly, a different sound came from inside, one that made Ralof's eyes go wide with fear. He could hear slapping, hitting, crying and screaming. Ciena started crying harder and covered her ears. Ralof couldn't think of what to do except hug his friend. He started to lead her away from the house, but then his parents came running down the path.

"Ralof, take Ciena to our house, now!" His father said.

The boy started to walk his friend home, when his parents opened the door to the fighting couple. Immediately, Ralof could see what was going on, and so did Ciena.  
Her father was slapping, hitting, kicking his wife. She tried to defend herself, but he was too strong. Ralof's father and mother had to drag the man away from the wife he was abusing.

Ciena started screaming when she saw her mother's bloodied face, the bruises on her arms and legs. Ralof's father looked at the two children, still holding back the girl's father.

"Ralof, go now!" He ordered his son. The boy ran, pulling his friend by the arm.  
Now he knew where Ciena got those cuts and bruises, but he wouldn't bring it up.


	2. Intro II

**Second intro to this story, I hope you guys like it ^_^ I said in the last intro that this would be short, but this is actually almost double the size, so just kidding! Anyways, enjoy and review!**

"Ralof, you're 18 now. Don't you think pranks are a little childish?" Ciena asked her friend, as he was plotting a prank against his brother-in-law, Hod.

"No! Hod started this war, and now I am retaliating." He said, his wicked grin spreading across his face.

"I was hoping you'd say you were going to end it..." Ciena said, rolling her eyes.

"Nah, this gives me an excuse to start pranking again." Ralof joked. Ciena could see the gears working in his head as he wrote down the plan for his "devious plot."

"Wait, why is my name on here?" She pointed to a section on the parchment, where Ralof had written her name next to some plans.

"Because you're going to help me." He answered. Ciena let out a short, sarcastic laugh. She slapped her friend on the back.

"Yeah, right! Good luck with this 'war' by yourself." She continued laughing and walked away.

"No, Ciena! Don't you want revenge on Hod, too?" Ralof called after her. She stopped in her tracks and spun around.

"Why would I want that? What has Hod ever done to me?" She yelled across the yard. The only thing remotely bad Hod has done to Ciena was that he got sick and she had to work both her's and his shifts at the mill for a week.

"He hasn't done anything- yet." Ralof said condescendingly. His grin was back. Ciena rolled her eyes.

"I have no idea what you're up to, but I doubt Hod is going to prank me."

"That's where you're wrong! Last night while Hod and Gerdur were asleep, I looked inside his desk and I saw his plans for the next prank. You were in it!" Ralof said, and that got Ciena's attention. She raised an eyebrow and walked back to where he was.

"What do you mean? Let me see his plans." She opened the door to Ralof's house and went over to Hod's desk.

"You know, it's rude to invite yourself in to someone's house without knocking." Ralof said, nudging her arm.

"It's not like you don't barge in on me. Remember last week?" She reminded him and punched him in the arm in return. Ralof shuddered at the thought. He had almost seen Ciena naked, bathing in her tub. He pretended to gag and got another punch in his arm.

He opened Hod's desk, grabbed the plans and pointed to where Ciena's name was. Before Ciena could react, the front door opened and the man himself came running towards them.

"What are you doing in my desk? And is that..." Hod started to ask what they were looking at when he realized what it was. "You snitches!"  
Hod laughed and snatched the paper from Ralof. He ran over to a bucket of water and grabbed it.

"You have until the count of three to leave, or it's your funeral." The man said, and as the two teenagers were running out, he counted to three and splashed them with the water. They screamed and ran out of the village towards their spot at the edge of the waterfall.

Once they got there, they crashed to the ground laughing. The two claimed their spot when they were children. It was a hollow tree trunk, with flowers and mushrooms around it, and it was at the top of the waterfall. They sat there for a few moments, just looking at the evening sky as the stars were coming out. Then, Ralof broke the silence.

"I'm joining the Stormcloaks."

Ciena immediately sat up and looked down at her friend.

"What?" Was the only thing she could say.

"I don't support everything they believe in, but I'm tired of living in a country where we can't worship who we want! I'm not racist like Ulfric, but I can't stand those damn Thalmor!" Ralof stated, his face growing red with anger.  
Ciena sat there for a moment, unsure of what to say. Then she finally spoke.

"I think... What you want to do is a very brave thing to do. But what if..." She couldn't finish her sentence, the thought of what she wanted to say was too painful. As if reading her mind, Ralof put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"What if I die? Yeah, that's a possibility. But it won't be in vain." He said, trying to comfort her. "And I don't just want to do this, I am. I've talked to Hod and Gerdur about this, and even though they were worried, they finally said I could." When he said that, Ciena turned sharply towards him.

"You've already talked to Hod and Gerdur about this, but not me?"

"Only to make sure they were okay with it before I told anyone else."

Ciena brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. Ralof scooted closer to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"I'll be okay, I promise you that. I'll write letters at least once a month."  
The two of them sat in silence for a moment. Then Ciena broke it again.

"When are you leaving?" She asked flatly.

"In three days." Ralof answered. The other fell silent again. He studied her face, looking for a reaction.

Of course Ralof had noticed before, but in this moment, Ciena looked absolutely beautiful. She was slightly pale, but with rosy cheeks. Her hair, the color of honey, fell almost all the way down her back. It was curly, and she somehow managed to control it. Her eyes were the color of the green Auroras above them. She had a well-built structure, with a lot of muscle, yet skinny. She had slightly wide hips and broad shoulders. Ciena had always been told she was pretty by everyone, but she never seemed to believe them.

Suddenly, Ralof noticed a tear running down her cheek. He slowly brought his hand to her face an wiped it away. She turned to look at him, and their eyes met. Ralof could see she was worried, her eyes told it all.

"I'll be fine, I promise you." He reassured her. Another tear ran down her cheek, but when Ralof wiped it away, he kept his hand on her face.  
They stared into each other's eyes for a moment. But when Ciena started to look away, he brought his lips to hers.

It startled Ciena for a second, but then she responded. Their lips moved together in unison. Ralof was gentle and tender, and Ciena could taste a hint of sweet rolls on his lips.

She knew this was wrong, they were best friends. This would probably create an awkward silence when this was over. But she didn't care. They continued to kiss for a few moments, the stars and Auroras twinkling above them, and the sound of the waterfall was calming.

Suddenly, Ralof broke away.

"I, um... We should get going. They'll be wondering where we are." He stuttered and stood up, helping Ciena stand up as well. Then came the long and awkward walk home she predicted.


	3. Chapter One- Ciena

**First real chapter for this story! So far, it seems this fan fiction has been going really well! Considering yesterday was the first day this story has been on here, four reviews is a good start ;) And they've been really helpful so far, so keep them coming!**

"It's been three months now, Gerdur," Ciena Redwinter said to her friend, "aren't you worried?" Ralof, the man they were worried about, had been sent to be one of Ulfric Stormcloak's bodyguards 90 days ago. This wouldn't be a problem, but he always sent letters once a month when he was on duty. Out of these three months, there had been no word from him.  
"Of course I am, Ciena! Have you not seen me pacing around the sawmill everyday these past months? Everyone in Riverwood is worried. Except Alvor's family, of course..." Ralof's sister glared at the blacksmith's house across the river.  
"Forget about Alvor! Something has happened to him, and I think it's time we did more to get our answers." Ciena exclaimed.  
"Keep your voice down! And I've told you, it's too risky. We might get caught!" Gerdur said quietly, but trying not to yell herself.  
Suddenly, Ciena pulled Gerdur's collar to the side and grabbed the hidden Amulet of Talos.  
"See this? This symbolizes your worship of Talos. If you were a true Nord, you'd pray to him, not fearful of getting caught." As soon as she said those words, Ciena immediately regretted it. Gerdur grabbed the amulet out of the other's hand and stomped up the ramp to the sawmill. She harshly yanked a log onto the saw.  
"Gerdur, don't ignore me again. I'm sorry." Ciena said.  
"This is the third time this month you've questioned if I were a "true Nord.'"  
"I know, I'm sorry. You know I don't mean it. I just think we need to be more faithful and pray to Talos to protect Ralof."  
The lumberjack paused her work and sighed, turning her head towards her friend.  
"I know, Ciena. I would if I knew we were safe. But over the past few months, Alvor and Sigrid have been extremely suspicious, and I can't help but think they could be spies for the Imperials."  
The other Nord woman rolled her eyes.  
"Gerdur, just because Dorthe goes to your house to play with Frodnar a lot does not mean her parents are using her to get information about you guys."  
"It's not just that! I haven't told you this, but just last week we caught Alvor trying to break into our house in the middle of the night. Hod and I were woken up by the noise and when we opened the door, Sigrid came running over saying something about 'He had too many drinks,' and, 'He thought this was our house.' What kind of excuse is that?" Gerdur's face was turning red from the anger and lack of breath from talking so fast.  
"Calm down! To be fair, it was the man's birthday, and he got drunk last year, too." Ciena said, trying not to laugh at her friend's paranoia.  
"Yes, but how would Sigrid know he'd be trying to get into our house? It's like she was watching over him to make sure his break in went smoothly."  
As soon as Ciena was about to explain the possibility of Sigrid walking drunk Alvor home, Hod came sprinting across the boardwalk. He stopped in front of the two women, doubling over and out of breath.  
"Hod, what happened? And why are you so out of breath?" The man's wife asked worriedly. He started to talk, but was too out of breath.  
"Sit down and catch your breath, before you pass out." Ciena suggested, and both women helped him sit down on the ramp. After a few moments, his breath was back to normal.  
"I ran all the way here from Whiterun." Hod said, clasping his shaking hands together over his knees. "I was at the marketplace, just buying some food, when all of a sudden this courier came crashing through the city gates. He was reporting news about the Stormcloak army."  
"What news?" Gerdur and Ciena asked in unison.  
"Ulfric and his troops walked into an Imperial ambush at Darkwater Crossing, and were captured. That's all we know so far." Hod explained.  
"Wait, if Ulfric was captured... Oh gods, what happened to Ralof?" Gerdur said, starting to panic.  
It was all Ciena could do to not say "I told you so" to Gerdur, but that wouldn't help anything. Instead, the panicking woman turned to her.  
"You were right, we should have prayed to Talos for Ralof's safety."  
"It's okay. And you never know, maybe Talos was watching over us, Ralof could have escaped." She gave a look of reassurance to both Gerdur and Hod. But inside, Ciena was just as panicked as Gerdur was.


	4. Chapter Two- Ralof

**This chapter was kind of hard to write, since the game doesn't really describe the events I wrote here. So, sorry if this wasn't the best chapter! Also, I've read in a few reviews that my chapters are a tad short, but I make up for it by updating often! Except this one took me longer to write because I've been really busy lately. Anyways, I'm trying to make my chapters longer. In the mean time, enjoy and review!**

For two weeks, Ralof and a few other Stormcloaks have been marching through northern Skyrim, guarding Ulfric Stormcloak. They had taken over a fort in the Pale, and Ulfric went with them this time.

A couple of the other soldiers were complaining about how tired or hungry they were. Ralof rolled his eyes and ignored them. He was tired and hungry himself, but at least he didn't complain about it.

"Quit your bellyaching!" Ulfric interrupted, "Ralof, what's the nearest settlement?"

Ralof studied his map for a moment, temporarily forgetting where they were at, until he found the settlement closest to them.

"Darkwater Crossing is just up the road, sir."

"Excellent. We shall stay there for the night, and make it to Windhelm by tomorrow. Hopefully one of the residents will be kind enough to let us use their house."

"If they don't let Ulfric Stormcloak stay in their home, they're just utterly stupid." Ralof said, which made the jarl chuckle.

The soldiers continued marching up the road until they could hear the sound of pick axes against ore. Ulfric chose Ralof to convince the residents of the single house to let the entire convoy sleep inside it for the night. He walked up the steps and knocked on the door.

Footsteps stomped inside, coming towards the door. After a few seconds, it opened hastily to reveal an angry-looking Nord.

"What?" The man snapped, before realizing he was talking to a soldier. When he did, he cleared his throat and straightened up.

"Sorry, the other miners have been pestering me... Are you here regarding the incident with Darkwater Pass?" The man asked, even though Ralof had no idea what he was talking about. He shook it off and got back to what was important.

"There's a group of soldiers here who require to use your house to rest for the night."

The other man snorted, raising an eyebrow.

"Why should I let a ton of soldiers take over my house? Windhelm is to the north, I don't see why you can't just-"

"Is there a problem, Ralof?" Ulfric said behind him. At the sound of the jarl's voice, the miner's face went pale. Ralof smirked and stepped aside. Ulfric stepped up with his arms crossed. The other man was speechless for a few moments, until he turned around and called to someone else in the house.

"Annekke, we're sleeping with the other miners tonight! We're letting some people use our house..."

"What are you talking about?" A woman's voice called from somewhere inside. Footsteps started coming towards the door, and a Nord woman appeared. She started to speak to her husband, but froze when she saw Ralof and Ulfric.

"O-of course, Jarl Ulfric. We'll be glad to lend our home to you." The woman stuttered, blushing.

Ulfric nodded and thanked them, and the two Stormcloaks stepped aside to let the two Nords out. Ralof started to question why they didn't grab any of their things, but realized they were probably too stunned to think about it. The rest of the soldiers came into the house, grabbing the spare bedrolls in one of the corners and spread them out on the floor.

"I call this bed!" Ralof said, beating another soldier, Gunjar, to the smaller twin-sized bed.

A couple of other men had started opening the bottles of mead that were on the small table in front of the fireplace.

"Put those away! I'm not going to allow any of you to get drunk and have hangovers tomorrow when we're traveling." Ulfric said. The men who had the mead groaned and put them back.

After a few moments, the soldiers finally calmed down and they went to sleep. All except Ralof, of course.

He laid in his bed, eyes wide open and staring at the ceiling. The only thing he could think about was Ciena. They hadn't seen each other in over a year, when he was off duty and returned to Riverwood.

Ralof promised her and his family he would write to them once a month. But he hadn't been able to contact them in over 90 days, since he'd been traveling with Ulfric for so long. He hoped they weren't too worried about him, even though they most likely were.

His mind wandered to Ciena again, imagining her green eyes looking into his blue ones. He remembered her honey-colored hair, fair skin, her laugh, her lips...

Ralof shook off the thought of that night and closed his eyes. He changed his thoughts to Frodnar, his nephew. The young boy had always been excited to see his uncle, and Gerdur had told Ralof that it made his day when Frodnar got letters from him.

The Nord smiled and closed his eyes. He silently promised himself that once he got back to Windhelm, he would send his family and Ciena another letter.

The next morning, the group of soldiers were woken up by the sound of the mine's rooster crowing. They grabbed a few slices of goat cheese and went outside. A couple of the miners offered them mugs of water, and they sat around the house waiting for Ulfric to give them orders.

"Alright, men. Today we're going straight back to Windhelm, no side trips or anything." The jarl announced. He went over to the owners of the house and thanked them for lending their home for the night. After he was done, he started to lead the soldiers out of the settlement.

When they had walked about twenty feet, Ralof started to notice something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head towards it, trying to make out what the shape was. It was hidden in the bushes, but there was an object slightly jutting out of them. After a few seconds if staring, he saw more of what the shape was.

It was a bow and arrow, drawn by a soldier in Imperial armor. Then, he realized, the arrow was pointed at Ulfric.

"Get down!" He yelled. Without question, every soldier ducked down and grabbed their weapons. Ralof put himself in front of Ulfric, determined to not let the arrow touch the jarl. He knew if the archer let go of the arrow, it would shoot him instead, but that was the risk he took when he joined the Stormcloaks.

Then, Ralof heard a whizz through the air, and felt something hit the back of his armor. He looked back and saw an arrow lodged itself in his chain mail, deadly close to his exposed neck. He pulled out the arrow and threw it on the ground. Suddenly, a whole group of Imperials came out of the bushes, stampeding towards them.

"Ralof, get off your arse and fight!" Ulfric shouted, and Ralof realized all the other soldiers were on their feet.

He stood up and readied his warhammer, just as an Imperial was heading towards him with a greatsword. He raised his weapon and ran towards the soldier. After blocking the sword's blow, Ralof turned the sharp end of his hammer towards the Imperial and bashed his head in. He grimaced at the sickly crunch sound it made.

There was fighting all around him, and he could faintly smell blood. Ulfric was battling a soldier with a battleaxe, and Ralof noticed an archer in the tree aiming his arrow at the back of the jarl's head. He ran towards the Imperial, jumped, and hit his leg with his warhammer. The archer screamed and fell to the ground, where Ralof finished the job.

The fighting continued for what seemed like eternity. With every minute passing by, it got worse and worse. A few Stormcloaks were lost, and Ralof was close with most of them. However, he took some comfort in the fact that more Imperials were falling than the rebels. Even so, they were outnumbered.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Ralof saw Ulfric struggling to get back on his feet after he had been knocked down by a block. The Imperial who had knocked him down raised his greatsword and was about to slice Ulfric's skull in half. Ralof charged toward him, but stopped when the jarl opened his mouth.

"FUS, RO DAH!"

A blue, cloudy ring of force escaped from the man's mouth. It rammed into the Imperial opposing him, and he was sent flying across the road, hitting a with a sickening _crunch._

Ralof stared at Ulfric, speechless. He had heard of the force and power the Thu'um possessed, but had never seen it with his own eyes. He snapped back to reality and reached his hand out to the jarl to help him to his feet. But before Ulfric could accept the help, Ralof heard footsteps charging behind him. He started to turn around, but only caught a blur of the soldier charging at him. Then, he felt the hilt of the Imperial's sword crashing into the side of his helmet, sending him falling on all four and seeing stars and blackness. The last thing Ralof saw before blacking out was Ulfric killing the attacker. He silently thanked the jarl, and then slipped into unconsciousness.


	5. Chapter Three- Ralof II

**Hey y'all! First of all, I am SOO sorry about how long this chapter took! I had a huge case of writer's block, and I read two whole other Skyrim fanfictions until I was inspired. So, thanks to massivelyattacked for her story "The Girl With The Voice" and BrunetteAuthorette99 for "The Bear and the Wolf", both amazing stories btw! And I had a bit of personal life drama and vacation!**

**Also... I have changed the last chapter a bit, because Ulfric surrendering during the fight did not fit his personality at all! If you want to check out the new fight scene, it's towards the end of the chapter, which is the only part I changed. And lastly, I changed the plot of this story from what it was originally going to be, so the title "Eternally Us" doesn't fit anymore. I will change the title next chapter, and it will now be called "The Stranger Among Us"! And when the script from the opening scene of Skyrim starts, I changed it up a bit so you wouldn't have to read the same thing. Anyhow, on to the story!**

* * *

Ralof awoke to the sound of horse's hooves and his head bobbing. Startled, he snapped his head upright. The Stormcloak's vision was blurry, with colors fading in and out. When his vision finally corrected, he looked at his surroundings.

He was on a cart, surrounded by more carts. All of the drivers were Imperial soldiers. Looking around more, Ralof saw who was on the cart with him- Ulfric Stormcloak, with a gag covering his mouth, (_Damn bastards are probably worried he'd used the Thu'um on them, and they're probably right._ Ralof thought, almost smirking.) a man in rags next to him, and an unconscious woman dressed the same across from him, her head hanging limp. Even though he couldn't see her face, he knew he had never seen her or the man before, and knew they weren't Stormcloaks.

Ralof then looked down and saw that his hands were bound. _Damn it..._ He started to wonder about where they were being taken, perhaps to be paraded in front if the Emperor in Cyrodiil. But then, he suddenly recognized the road they were on. It was the road to Helgen.

Ralof remembered hearing about several executions taking place in that village. The realization hit him hard, but he accepted his fate silently. _This isn't how I imagined to die. I imagined going to Sovngarde with a sword in my hands, but I guess there's no going back now... Not like I had a choice, anyways..._

"Took you long enough to wake up." Ralof suddenly heard the Nord in rags say. "I've been on this cart for a day, and you just now woke. She's been on here longer than me, but she hasn't woken up yet either."

The man speaking was smirking, motioning towards the woman across from Ralof. He had messy brown hair, and dirt all over his body that matched the color of it.

"I'm Lokir, by the way." The man said. Ralof looked at Lokir and nodded shortly.

"I'm Ralof. How did you... End up here?"

"Escaped from prison and stole a horse. I've been on the wanted list for a while, and they found me. Escaped for nothing, though, since I'm on my way back to jail.

Ralof was about to tell him where they were actually going, but then he suddenly noticed the woman in front him stir. She groaned, her head rolling back. Then, her eyes slowly blinked open and she looked forward.

The first thing Ralof noticed about her were her green eyes. _Like Ciena..._ He thought. But instead of curly blonde locks and pale skin, the woman in front of him was the opposite. She had straight, mahogany-colored hair, falling just past her shoulders. Her skin was tan, and she was skinny but with a lot of muscle. _Also like her..._ But one thing that stood out the most was the war paint on her lower cheek. It was light blue, a swirl making the shape of an eye. Ralof figured she was a Nord, as that was a traditional pattern for war paint, but she was unusually tan for one.

Realizing he was staring at her, Ralof looked away, but then decided to speak to her.

"Hey, you. You're finally awake." He said to the woman, and she quickly looked up at him. "How did you end up here?"

Frowning, the Nord opened her mouth as if she were about to respond, but hesitated. She looked around, frowning. Then, she brought her hands up to scratch her nose, but stopped when she realized her hands were bound.

"Shit..." She said under her breath.

"Were you trying to cross the border?" Ralof suggested. The woman stopped struggling with her binds and looked up at him. She slowly nodded.

"Y-yeah. My mother... I was going to visit her in Cyrodiil. I somehow misplaced my legal papers and the guards near the border thought I was trying to get through illegally. I tried to run, but..." The Nord said, and started to frown even more. Her voice was a tad deep for a woman, but strong and distinctly feminine. "I don't really remember much of what happened."

Ralof nodded. "Good thing you didn't walk into the Imperial ambush, like we did, and that thief over there..."

"Damn you Stormcloaks! Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy" Lokir snapped, his friendly tone suddenly fading. "If they hadn't been looking for you, I could've stolen that horse and be halfway to Hammerfell!"

He then turned to the Nord woman. "You and me- we shouldn't be here! It's these Stormcloaks the Empire wants!"

Ralof snorted. "We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief."

"Shut up back there!" The cart driver snapped.

Ignoring him, Lokir turned to Ulfric. "And what's wrong with him, huh?"

"Watch your tongue! You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King." Ralof glared at the thief.

"U-Ulfric? Jarl of Windhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion. But if they've captured you... Oh gods, where are they taking us?"

"Helgen, and Sovngarde awaits..." Ralof said slowly. He glanced up at the woman, whose eyes had gotten wide, but she showed no other signs of fear.

"No, this can't be happening. This isn't happening!" Lokir yelled, starting to struggle against his binds.

"Hey, what village are you from, horse thief?" Ralof asked, ignoring the latter's screams.

"Why do you care?" Lokir snapped.

"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home."

"Rorikstead... I-I'm from Rorikstead."

Ralof looked at the woman in front of him. "And you?"

She hesitated from answering for a moment. "I was... Born in Bravil, but I was raised in Shor's Stone."

"So you're an Imperial?" Ralof asked.

"My mother was Imperial, and my father was a Nord." She answered.

Suddenly, their cart driver called out to someone, and Ralof saw that they had arrived at Helgen.

"General Tullius, sir! The headsman is waiting!"

"Good, lets get this over with." A deep, commanding voice ordered.

"Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh! Divines, please help me!" Lokir prayed desperately.

As the cart passed the General who had spoken, who was on horseback with a High Elf, Ralof glared at him.

"Look at him, General Tullius, the Military Governor. And it looks like the Thalmor are with him! Damn elves, I bet they had something to do with this!"

The cart carried on through the village, and Ralof recalled memories of a girl from there and Vilod's Juniper Berry mead.

"Who are they, Dad? Where are they going?" A little boy asked from the house the cart was passing.

"You need to go inside, little cub." The father said.

The cart carried in further, until the drivers stopped the horses in a courtyard.

"Get these prisoners out of the carts!" A female officer ordered.

"Why are we stopping?" Lokir asked panicked.

"Why do you think? End of the line." Ralof said. "Let's go, we shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us."

"No, wait! We're not rebels!"

"Face your death with some courage, thief." The Nord woman snapped. Ralof looked at her, surprised at her wits after barely speaking the whole cart ride.

All four stepped off the cart, with Ralof and the woman in the back. Waiting for them, there was an Imperial captain and a soldier. Ralof glanced at him, but didn't pay him much attention and stared at the ground.

"Step towards the block when we call your name. One at a time!" The captain said sternly.

"Ulfric Stormcloak. Jarl of Windhelm." The soldier said. Ralof's head immediately shot up. He had heard that voice before...

Ulfric walked towards the block.

"It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric." Ralof said proudly.

"Ralof of Riverwood." The soldier said. The latter's eyes shot towards the Imperial speaking. _Son of a... It's Hadvar._

Ralof glared at the soldier as he walked towards the block. The other avoided eye contact.

"Lokir of Rorikstead."

"No, you can't do this! I'm not a rebel!" Lokir cried. He started running away from the courtyard with the captain calling after him. "You're not gonna kill me!"

"Archers!" The captain yelled, and the Imperial soldiers with bows and arrows shot at Lokir. Two arrows got lodged in his neck, killing him. "Anyone else feel like running?"

"Wait. You there, step forward." Hadvar said to the Nord woman, and she stepped forward. "Who... Are you?"

"Viana... Viana Strong-Blade."

"You picked a bad time to come home to Skyrim, kinswoman." Hadvar said, a sorry look in his eyes. "Captain, what should we do? She's not on the list."

"Forget the list! She goes to the block." The captain ordered sternly, glowering at Viana. Ralof rolled his eyes.

"By your orders, Captain." Hadvar sighed, looking back at the Nord. "To the block, Prisoner, nice and easy."

Ralof watched as Viana hesitated a second before walking towards the block. General Tullius walked up to Ulfric.

"Ulfric Stormcloak, some here in Helgen call you a hero. But a hero doesn't use the power of the Voice to murder the High King and usurp his throne." He said, and Ulfric answered with a grunt. "You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down, and restore the peace!"

Suddenly, there was a loud, powerful roar that echoed around the mountains. Ralof looked up, frowning, as did everyone else.

"What was that?" Hadvar asked to no one in particular.

"It's nothing, carry on." The General said, ignoring the sound.

"Yes, General Tullius!" The captain said. "Give then their last rights."

She motioned to the priestess that was in the courtyard.

"As we commend your souls to Atherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you-"

"For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with!" A Stormcloak snapped, and walked himself to the block.

"As you wish..."

The captain forced the soldier to his knees, and pushed on his back so his head was on the block. The headsman raised his axe, and with a sickening _crunch_, the man's head fell off, rolling on the ground.

"You Imperial bastards!" A female Stormcloak shouted.

"Justice!" A villager called back.

"As fearless in death, as he was in life." Ralof said slowly, looking down, and he felt Viana's gaze on him.

"Next, the Nord in rags!" The captain called.

Then, the same roar echoed across the mountains. Only this time, it was louder and seemed to be a lot closer.

"There it is again, did you hear that?" Hadvar asked.

"I said, next prisoner!" The captain ordered.

Viana tensed up, but kept her face calm. She slowly walked to the block, with a sort of pride. The captain did the same to her, forcing her down on the block.

The headsman raised his axe again, about to strike. Ralof quickly looked away, but then he heard the same roar. He looked up and searched for the source. Everyone did, and the headsman stopped his axe mid-swing.

The air seemed to stand still as Ralof held his breath, not realizing he was. He continued searching for the source for a few moments. Suddenly, a huge, black shadow emerged from behind the mountain. It flew in circles, too fast for Ralof to see what it was.

"What in Oblivion is that?" General Tullius shouted.

"Sentries! What do you see?" The captain asked the guards.

Then, the figure slowed down, hovering above the courtyard. Ralof then could see what it was- Black as night, huge, scaly wings, and horns all down its back. _By the gods... The tales are true... _As it hovered above the the large tower in front of the courtyard, a female soldier called out the name of the creature.

"Dragon!" She cried.


	6. Chapter Four- Ralof III

**I have been really inspired to write lately, so I am going to start updating every weekend if I can! And I looked on the views for this story, and it seems that the views are going down each chapter. Not too good :( If you have friends on this website, please tell them about this fanfic! I'd appreciate it :) Also, as you can see, I've changed the title like I said I would. This new one fits the new plot a lot better than "Eternally Us". Plus it was cheesy. Anyways, read and review!**

* * *

"Dragon!"

As if on queue, the creature landed on top of the tower overshadowing the courtyard, shaking the ground. The impact caused Ralof to stagger, but he kept himself on his feet while others fell completely. Then, the dragon opened its maw, and roared shortly but loudly, and the blue sky turned into a swirl of purple and black, with falling fireballs. It then shouted... /A spell?/ Ralof thought, not knowing how to describe it, and a blue ring of force emerged from its maw, ramming into some soldiers. Even though he wasn't hit, Ralof still felt the impact and staggered again. He looked around frantically, looking for a place to hide.

"Ralof! Over here!" A voice said behind him. The soldier turned around to see it was Ulfric, who started running towards a different tower than the one the dragon landed on. As Ralof started to run towards it, he remembered Viana. He turned to the block, where she lay on all fours struggling to get up. He ran towards her and grabbed her rags. Pulling her up, he told her to follow him. They ran into the tower, closing the door just as a fireball was about to ram into them. Ulfric walked over to Ralof and untied his binds.

"Jarl Ulfric, what is that thing? Could the legends be true?" He asked the jarl.

"Legends don't burn down villages." Ulfric said, as he finished with Ralof's binds and walked over to Viana. "We need to move, now!"

"Up here!" Shouted a Stormcloak, who was halfway up the spiral staircase. Ralof ran towards him, with Viana following him.

"What's your plan?" Ralof asked the soldier. Suddenly, as he was about to answer, the wall beside them exploded and the dragon's head burst through. Ralof quickly backed away, and pulled Viana away as the monster shot fire at where she was standing.

"Thanks." She said, out of breath. Ralof nodded and looked out the hole the dragon had left. It had already destroyed half the village. Below them, there was what was left of the inn, and it had a huge hole in the ceiling. Ralof pointed to it and turned to the other Nord.

"See the keep on the other side if the village? Jump down to the inn and get there."

"What about you?" Viana asked, looking worried.

"Don't worry about us, we'll follow when we can. Go!"

Ralof watched as the woman backed up, got a running start and jumped. He half expected her to injure herself, but she bent her knees and rolled on impact. He watched her jump down to the second floor and run out of the inn.

"Jarl Ulfric, what do we do?" Ralof asked as he ran down the stairs.

"First, we need to move that fireball that has lodged the door shut." Ulfric ordered. The other Stormcloak nodded and opened the door. The fireball covered the whole door, with no way to go around it. "On three, we push. Eorling, come help us!" Ulfric called to the other soldier who was with them.

"One, two, three!" All three men rammed into the fireball with their shoulders, barely moving it. But since it was at the top of the steps, it only needed a push to roll down.

"This way!" Ralof shouted, running outside. Ulfric and Eorling ran behind him towards the keep. Suddenly, the beast swooped down from the sky and landed on a wall next to them. The impact sent them falling, and Ralof had to quickly roll out of the way so he wouldn't get blasted with fire.

The three soldiers quickly got on their feet when the dragon flew away. Ralof continued running towards the keep, but spotted an abandoned war axe on the ground. He picked it up and turned around to check if Ulfric and Eorling were behind him. When he saw they were nowhere to be seen, Ralof cursed under his breath and looked around him. He gave up and hoped they had found another way out. He continued running towards the keep, and when he finally got there, he was glad to see Viana reached it too. But she was with someone, an all-too familiar Imperial.

"Ralof, you damn traitor! Out of my way!" Hadvar shouted.

"We're escaping, Hadvar. You're not stopping us this time!" Ralof retorted sharply. The Imperial hesitated, then yelled back at him.

"Fine, I hope that dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!" He said harshly, and ran towards the opposite door of the keep. "Follow me prisoner!"

"Viana, this way!" Ralof shouted. The woman hesitated, looking back and forth at the two soldiers. Finally, she looked at Ralof and ran toward him. Relieved to not be alone, the Stormcloak opened the door to the keep.

Running inside, Viana heard the door shut behind her. She turned around to see Ralof, who walked past her. He knelt down next to the body of a Stormcloak.

"We'll meet again in Sovngarde, brother." He said sadly. He shook his head and stood up. "Looks like we're the only ones who made it. That thing was a dragon, no doubt. Just like the children's stories, and the legends..."

"Did you know them? That Imperial, and this Stormcloak." Viana asked.

Ralof hesitated a few seconds before answering.

"Yeah... Me and the Imperial are from the same village. Didn't know him too well, though. And the Stormcloak, Gunjar... We go back." He said, looking down. Sensing his discomfort, Viana immediately regretted asking the question.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. We should keep moving. But those rags aren't going to do you any good. As much as I hate to say it, take Gunjar's gear. It'll be better than nothing."

"Are you sure?" Viana asked, a little taken aback by the order.

"Yes. It won't do him much good now. Just slip it on over your rags, and give that axe a few swings." Ralof answered, and walked over to Gunjar. He undid the belts and buckles on the corpse and handed them to Viana. She slipped them on over her head and weighed the war axe in her hands. After she did the last belt and buckle, Ralof walked towards one of the doors and pulled on it.

"Damn it, it's locked. See about that one." He said and pointed to the door on the opposite side of the room. Viana pulled on the handle, to no avail. Ralof cursed again, as the two heard footsteps coming from the other side. Then, an Imperial soldier and the captain rounded the corner and came running towards the door.

"Imperials! Get your axe ready!" Ralof said. He pulled Viana over to the wall so the soldiers wouldn't see them. When the captain opened the door, Ralof charged at her. Before he could strike, she turned around and quickly blocked his axe with her sword. Viana drew her own and ran towards the other soldier. She raised it over her head and was about to strike, when the latter turned around and quickly reacted. He blocked the blow with his sword, holding the handle and blade with the axe hitting it instead of his head. The two stood there for a moment, Viana trying to push down her axe and the Imperial trying to push it away. When the sword was about to slip from his grip and Viana pushing down harder, the soldier suddenly kicked her in the chest, sending her falling against the wall. He ran towards her, sword in the air, when the latter rolled out of the way and kicked the back of his knees. The soldier collapsed, and Viana lodged her axe into his skull. She turned around to find Ralof finishing off the captain. He turned around and faced Viana.

"Maybe one of these Imperials had the key." He said and knelt down next to the captain. While he searched her pockets, Viana wiped the blood off of her axe. Then, Ralof exclaimed "Aha!" and held up the key. He walked towards the opposite door and opened it.

"There we go. C'mon, let's get out if here before that dragon brings the whole tower down on our heads!" Ralof led Viana down a flight of stairs and down a short hallway. They turned a corner into a long corridor.

Suddenly, there was a loud roar and crash, and bricks fell down from the wall, blocking the rest of the corridor.

"That dragon doesn't give up easily. Through this door, it's our only choice now." Ralof said and walked towards the large double doors. Before he reached it, the two heard voices on the other side.

"Grab everything important and let's move! The dragon's burning everything to the ground." A stern, commanding voice said.

"Let me just grab some more potions." Another said. Quietly, Ralof drew his sword and slowly opened the door. On the other end of the room, facing away from them, was an Imperial and a Mage. After a few seconds, Ralof charged at the soldier. The fight ended quickly, with the Imperial being off guard. Viana ran towards the Mage and struck his unprotected torso, almost slicing halfway into him.

"Let me search the barrels for some potions, we might need them." Viana said and Ralof nodded. She walked towards the barrel the Mage was searching and pulled out two health potions. Tossing one to Ralof, she stashed the other one in a pocket.

When she finished, they walked out of the room and down another hallway. Suddenly, Viana heard a fight going on up ahead. Ralof heard it too, as he drew his axe. Viana did the same and they walked towards the sound.

When they reached the source, it was in an interrogation room, where two Stormcloaks were battling a torturer and his assistant. Ralof again charged at the enemy, slicing the assistant's unprotected back. The man collapsed, and didn't move. Then, Viana ran up behind the torturer, and swung her axe into his neck. With a sickening sound and the tortuer making a choking noise, he collapsed.

"Ralof!" The female Stormcloak exclaimed once the fight was over.

"Gretel! I'm glad you made it out safely." Ralof said and embraced the soldier. "And Jon!" He said, and embraced the other soldier.

"How did you make it out?" Jon asked.

"It wasn't easy, and I'm not really sure. But if it weren't for Viana, here, I wouldn't have survived the Imperials here in the keep." Ralof said smiling, and motioned towards his comrade. She shook hands with both soldiers and smiled.

"Let's all continue on together, we'll have strength in numbers if we encounter anymore Imperials." Jon said, and they agreed.

The group continued on out of the room, until they came to a large opening which seemed to be a natural cave. Four Imperials were waiting there, apparently for General Tullius. The fight was over somewhat quickly, and Viana was glad they did have the other two Stormcloaks with them so they were even.

"Me and Jon are going to stay here, in case Ulfric or anyone else makes it here." Gretel said, and Ralof nodded.

"It's been good to see you, friends. Take care, now." He said and led Viana to the opposite side of the opening, towards a drawbridge with a lever.

Viana pulled the lever and the bridge fell down, allowing them to cross further into the keep. As soon as they did, though, there was a loud roar and a crash, as bricks and boulders fell from above, blocking the way behind them.

"Damn it! I hope they find a way out." Ralof said angrily.

The two carried on further into the cave. Nothing happened for a while, until they entered a room with a small waterfall and stream. About halfway through, Ralof put his arm out in front of Viana to stop her.

"_Shh._ Hold up! There's a bear just ahead, see her? I'd rather sneak past it. Or, if you're feeling brave, you can shoot her with this bow and arrow I looted off an Imperial." He said, and handed her a hunting bow and iron arrows.

Viana hesitated for a moment, thinking. Then, she raised the bow and pulled back the string with the arrow. Her brow furrowed as she aimed it, holding her breath. She slowly exhaled as she let go, sending the arrow flying into the bear's neck, killing it.

"I like your wits- and your aim. Good work, now let's keep moving." Ralof said, and Viana slightly smiled.

The two walked across the stream to the other side of the cave. They came upon a crevice in the rock, and there was light shining through it.

"That looks like the way out. I knew we could make it!" Ralof said and ran towards the opening.

He was right, because when they stepped out if the cave, Viana saw the sky and sighed with relief. Her relief didn't last too long, as she heard the dreadful roar of the dragon behind them.

"Get down!" Ralof ordered, and they ducked behind a boulder. The dragon circled above before flying away. They waited until it was out of sight, so they were sure it wouldn't come back. "I think it's gone for good this time. Come on, I know this trail. This leads to the road down there, which leads to Riverwood, the village I live in. My sister Gerdur can help us. I wonder if anyone saw the dragon, if it flew above the village."

"How far is it?" Viana asked, which made Ralof chuckle.

"Eager to rest, huh? So am I. Hopefully Gerdur and her husband will allow us to use their house, or at least give us a few septims for the inn."

And with that, the two Nords were off to Riverwood. While on the road, Ralof pointed out different landmarks, memories from his childhood.

"Me and my best friend, Ciena, used to always swim in this river. She's probably at Riverwood too, if she's not at the market in Whiterun. Gods, I haven't seen her in ages..." Ralof said when they started to walk next to the White River.

"I'd be glad to meet her, and your sister." Viana said, smiling at Ralof.

The two didn't speak the rest of the way, enjoying the scenery and listening to the birdsongs. Then, Ralof pointed to a long, lookout tower ahead of them.

"We've made it to Riverwood!"


	7. Chapter Five- Ciena II

**Impossible chapter is impossible. I had to keep rewriting parts, then even after that I re-rewrote it. So thats why it took so long to post this! Plus, school has started, so I've been busy. Anyways, I want to thank you readers for all the reviews you've written! I might not reply to all of them, but they're all really helpful! And I haven't come across a single bad review, so yay! All of them make me happy and giggly (: Enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"So, what was my dad freaking out about the other day?" Frodnar asked Ciena as they walked up the road towards Riverwood.

"What do you mean?" She asked, pretending not to know what he meant.

"Ciena, don't play innocent. What is going on?" The boy insisted. The young woman sighed and looked at him.

"You'll... Find out when it's time." She said and continued looking forward. Frodnar groaned and crossed his arms. "Look, I wish I could tell you, but your mother already told you not to ask and she told me not to say anything."

The boy didn't speak the rest of the way home. _Gods, he's so stubborn sometimes... I wonder where he gets it..._ Ciena thought, remembering Gerdur's occasional attitude, which Ralof also had.

Then, Frodnar suddenly grabbed the other handle of the cart, allowing Ciena to rest the arm that was holding it. _But he hates holding a grudge..._ She smiled to herself.

Finally, the bridge crossing into Riverwood was in view. They crossed it, trying to control the swerving cart behind them. Ciena knew pulling the cart would be a lot easier if Gerdur let her use the cow, but the last time they brought it, he got spooked by a simple deer crossing the road and spilled all of the food.

Ciena could hear the constant chopping of wood and the splitting of trees at the sawmill. She shook her head, knowing Gerdur probably hadn't taken a break all day.

_"You're going to exhaust yourself if you don't take a break every once in a while." Ciena had told her once. The other woman simply waved her off and returned to work._

_"She's determined to not let this village fail." Hod had told Ciena._

_"I know that, but it's not! This mill is successful, it's not going to close down anytime soon."_

_That was where she was wrong, though._

_"The mill hasn't been... As successful as it used to be. We don't know why, but if we don't sell more wood soon, we might actually have to shut down and relocate."_

Suddenly, Ciena's thoughts were interrupted by Frodnar dropping the cart quickly, and running towards the mill.

"Frodnar! Help me with the..." She called, but gave up when he disappeared behind the mill. _Why did he run away so quickly?_

The Nord sighed and pulled the cart the rest of the way to her house. She thought about putting away the food by herself, but reconsidered when she saw how much was in the cart. Ciena sighed again and started walking over to where Frodnar had run off to. When she crossed the small bridge, she heard something that made her stop in her tracks.

"Uncle Ralof!" Ciena heard Frodnar exclaim.

_Could he... Be back?_ She thought, staring at the mill. _No, maybe they told Frodnar what happened... But he sounded excited._

Ciena started to walk around the mill, her heart thumping in her chest. When she rounded the corner, she saw Frodnar running towards his parents and- Ralof.

_By the Nine..._

"There she is!" Gerdur said, and pointed behind Ralof.

The man turned around and smiled widely when he saw his friend.

"Ralof!" She exclaimed and ran towards him. He laughed as she hugged him and nearly tackled him to the ground. "By the gods, I've missed you!"

Ciena pulled away, still grinning. Her smile quickly faded away, though, when she noticed how exhausted and beat up Ralof looked. He had dark circles under his eyes, blood was speckled across his face, and dirt was smudged everywhere.

"What happened to you? You look live you've been dragged through Oblivion and back!"

"That's what I said!" Hod said behind them.

"I wanted to wait to tell you all when Ciena got here. But first..." Ralof said, and turned around. He motioned towards a young Nord woman, who Ciena hadn't noticed until now. "Ciena, this is Viana Strong-Blade. Viana, this is my lifelong friend, Ciena Redwinter."

Ciena smiled at Viana, but for a split second, she saw a different look other than kindness in the other woman's eyes- distaste, as if she were looking down upon Ciena as a lesser, and... She sensed another emotion, but couldn't place it. _Hunger..?_ Then, the look was gone. Viana smiled and nodded.

_Am I imagining things?_

* * *

"Wait, so a _dragon_ attacked Helgen?" Gerdur asked Ralof, bewildered. "So Hilde was right, she's not crazy."

The soldier nodded. "Yes, and if it weren't for Viana, I wouldn't have made it out alive."

"Wait, but what happened those last three months? We didn't hear from you at all." Ciena asked.

"I apologize for that, but I wasn't able to write to anyone while I was traveling with Ulfric."

"Well, we're just glad you're okay. But if there's dragons around now, Riverwood is defenseless. Jarl Balgruuf should be told of this so he can send guards here." Hod suggested.

"I'll go there, and deliver the news to the jarl." Viana offered.

"You don't have to do that." Gerdur said.

"No, really it's fine. Plus, I have some... Er, friends in Whiterun that I'd like to see."

"Well why don't you rest here for the night before you go? It's getting dark soon, and you must be exhausted." Hod said.

"Oh, thank you. I can use the money I found in the keep at Helgen to rent a room at the inn." Viana said, holding up a small coin purse.

"Nonsense, you can spend the night at my house. I have an extra bed, anyways." Ciena said.

Viana hesitated a little before finally agreeing. "That's very kind of you, thank you." She smiled, but Ciena noticed the same emotion she saw in her eyes earlier, with a hint of sarcasm. Before the other could react, her expression returned to normal. Ciena nodded and looked through her pocket.

"Here's a spare key to my home. It's the house behind the inn. Make yourself at home." She said and handed Viana the key.

Suddenly, the group heard Frodnar off in the distance, calling for Gerdur. The two parents had sent their son to watch for Imperials who could be coming from Helgen.

"Mama, Papa, the cow got out again!" Hod and Gerdur then ran to their house.

After watching the two disappear behind the sawmill, Viana broke the silence.

"Thank you for allowing me to stay in your home, Ciana." Ciena cringed as she heard her name mispronounced. She ignored it and nodded.

"Of course. You can go ahead and let yourself in, I've got to finish my shift at the mill." _And talk to Ralof..._ Viana nodded again, then headed towards her temporary home.

When the other woman had crossed the bridge, Ciena turned to Ralof. She started to a feel a lump in her throat, and swallowed to make it go away.

_By the gods, don't cry, not right now..._

But her attempts failed, as a single tear escaped down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away.

"C'mon now, Ciana." Ralof said, smirking. Ciena glared up at him, but couldn't suppress a small laugh. The soldier pulled her into a tight hug, also laughing.

The two stayed like that for a few moments until Ciena remembered the way Viana had looked at her, and she pulled apart. After hesitating, she tried to speak.

She sighed, not knowing how to put it, without sounding like she was jumping to conclusions.

"What is it?" Ralof asked, sensing Ciena was at a loss for words.

"Do you think Viana is... Trustworthy?" She asked.

"What? Why do you... Why do you think she wouldn't be?"

"No, I'm not saying she's untrustworthy. It's just that... I saw something, in her expression. It was only a second, and I'm not sure if I imagined it or not. But I'm pretty sure I saw it."

"What is it, what do you mean?"

"I'm not sure how to say this, without sounding like I'm jumping to conclusions. But when you introduced me to her, and I smiled, she looked at me like... I was distasteful or, a lesser. She looked like she was disgusted or something."

Ralof looked at her, and after a few seconds a small smile grew on his face.

"I'm sure that's not what she felt about you. I am not saying you were imagining things, but maybe you just misunderstood somehow. I know I've only met Viana today, but I owe her my life. As for now, I trust her."

Suddenly Ciena felt a wave of guilt and stupidity pass over her. She looked down slightly, shaking her head.

"You're right. I feel stupid, I shouldn't have made that assumption." She said, smiling slightly back up at Ralof. The man put a finger on her chin and lifted it up so she was completely facing him.

"Don't feel stupid. If it makes you feel better, I'll be careful around her."

The two Nords stared into each other's eyes for a moment. Then, Ralof started to slowly close the distance between them, leaning his head lower. Just as he was about to kiss Ciena, Gerdur called from behind the mill.

"Ralof, the townsfolk wish to see you, after you've been gone so long!"

The soldier sighed, and gave a sorry look to Ciena. She smiled back up at him.

"Go on and say hi. We can spend time together tomorrow."

* * *

Viana sped through the forest, bounding on all fours. She had snuck out of the house she was temporarily staying in to do her rare activity. Before she left, she had to excuse herself from an awkward conversation with Ciena, and left to her bedchambers in order to calm herself down.

After long moments of rocking on her feet, cradling her legs, she had finally calmed down. But Viana knew she couldn't last forever, and told her host she wasn't feeling well, and was going to take a stroll for some fresh air.

The woman was right about not being able to last, as she barely made it across the bridge before she lost control. She felt herself changing, painfully, and staggered further into the forest before she finally did, letting out a loud howl that she hoped the villagers didn't hear.

_Thank the Eight there aren't guards stationed at the village yet... They'd be coming after me for sure._

When Viana first came to Riverwood, and she first saw Ciena Redwinter, her first thought was that the woman would be easy prey.

_Sure, she looks strong, but that's probably only from working at the mill, chopping wood all her life. I doubt she can fight._

Then she realized what she was thinking, and quickly shook the thought out of her head.

_Tonight... I can feed tonight._

And feed tonight she did. She sped towards a deer, slicing its neck, killing it instantly. Tearing out the meat hungrily and hastily, the woman had her fill of the animal and went to search for a new taste. She crept around the trees, sniffing for something to eat. Then, she smelled something about half a mile away.

_Human flesh..._

Viana tried to ignore it, but it had been so long since she fed on a human. Finally, her greed won and she howled, speeding towards the smell. After a few moments, she made it to her destination, a camp site. The prey was sleeping inside a tent, their bodies exposed to her. She quickly clawed one of the humans, then the other.

Viana fed on them, delighted to finally taste the meal she missed the most. But as she tore through them, she suddenly felt herself changing back into human form. Quickly, she abandoned her food and bounded back towards Riverwood. As soon as she completely turned to normal, she had found the clothes that had been ripped off her body. Covering herself as best she could, Viana made her way to the house. Hopefully, Ciena had gone to bed by now.

To her relief, as she opened the door to the home, the fire pit was out and Ciena was asleep across the room. Viana crept down the stairs leading towards the basement, and quickly changed into a dress that wasn't ripped. She crawled into bed, but thanks to her ability, she was still wide awake. Tossing and turning, she finally gave up and stared at the ceiling. The werewolf thought about her plans to go to Whiterun tomorrow, to talk to the jarl and take care of her other... Business. Then, back to Solitude. She had no intention of staying with the people in the small, pitiful village much longer.

_I have to get back to him... He's going to kill me when he finds out I've been arrested and almost executed. But I have the news to deliver to him, about the success with the sawmill here..._

Viana smirked at the irony of her thoughts. The mill wasn't successful, but her work was. At the thought of returning to her comrades soon, she smiled and turned on her side, finally falling into a non-peaceful sleep.


	8. Chapter Six- Viana

**The last chapter left some questions, didn't it? ;) What's Viana going to do in Whiterun, what is she planning with the sawmill, who are her "comrades", and how did she become a werewolf? A lot of these questions will be answered in this chapter, plus more... *condescending and creepy laugh* By the way, I finished this chapter around midnight, and I did not have time to edit and I have yet to find someone to edit for me, so please excuse any errors and message me if something absolutely doesn't make any sense xx**

**Also, this is definitely my longest chapter so far, and I didn't intend for it to be over 4,000 words... But that's good! Anyways, on to the story! I think you'll find Viana's POV interesting...**

* * *

Viana walked up the stairs to the main level of Ciena's house. She still felt restless from her hunt last night, and wide awake from having practically no sleep. When she reached the top of the stairs, she noticed Ciena seated at the table by the fireplace. The werewolf sighed quietly, originally wanting to sneak out of the house and avoid conversation. But she knew that wasn't possible now, and she walked over to the table.

"Oh, good morning. I didn't hear you come up the stairs." Ciena said when she saw Viana. The other simply nodded and sat down.

The two women sat there for a few minutes in awkward silence, eating bread and goat cheese slices. Viana was anxious to leave, but needed to stay calm in order to seem nonchalant. She couldn't raise questions, or she could risk exposing her line of work.

Suddenly, Ciena spoke up, breaking the silence.

"So, um... Yesterday, you said you had business to attend to in Whiterun, other than deliver the message to the jarl. Do you mind me asking what it is?"

_Damn it,_ Viana thought,_ so much for not raising questions._

"I'm, um, just visiting some friends that live there. I'd like to keep it at that, if you don't mind."

Ciena nodded, and went back to eating her cheese. Viana could sense another awkward silence coming up, and put down her bread. She scooted her chair back and stood up.

"I actually think I'll get an early start. Thank you for letting me stay in your home." She said. Ciena stood up and faced her.

"It was no problem. I was actually just about to go to the mill, so I'll walk outside with you. Ralof might want to say goodbye, also."

Viana sighed, but the other woman didn't seem to notice her annoyance. They walked outside towards the sawmill.

_By the gods... If I don't do this soon, they'll have my head..._ Viana thought, remembering her stern leaders from both her groups.

When they finally reached the mill, Ralof was there, helping Hod and Gerdur. Ciena walked faster, with Viana lagging behind.

"Ralof! Viana's on her way to Whiterun, I figured you'd probably want to say goodbye."

The soldier looked at Viana and smiled.

"Leaving so soon?" He asked.

"Uh, yeah... I'm eager to see my friends that live there."

"Well, before you go, I want to give you this. A small thank-you gift, for saving my life, you know?" Ralof said. Before Viana could protest, he pulled out an iron dagger. At first it seemed like a normal dagger, but when Viana took it in her hands, she noticed a red aura coming off of it.

"Oh... Thank you. You don't have to do this, really." She said.

"No, I insist. An extra weapon, for protection. Also, it's enchanted. I'm not sure what enchantment it is, but I guess you'll find out when you use it." Ralof said, a proud smile on his face.

"Thank you, Ralof. I'll put this to good use." The werewolf said, somewhat forcing a smile on her face. She waved goodbye to the two villagers and was on her way to Whiterun.

"How did you get that?" She heard Ciena ask behind her.

"Well..." Ralof said.

* * *

The Whiterun stables were just down the road now. Even though the walk from Riverwood to Whiterun was short, Viana was still sore in the legs from Helgen. She walked passed the Honningbrew Meadery and smelled the sweet scent of the mead. Two guards leaned back lazily on the gate in front if the meadery chatting.

"Y'know, guard duty wouldn't be so bad if they let us grab a bottle of mead every once and a while. I'd be a lot warmer and a lot happier with a bellyful of the stuff." One of the men said. Viana chuckled to herself, agreeing with him.

She continued on farther down the road, approaching Pelagia Farm. Suddenly, she noticed a struggle going on in front of the farmhouse. As she got closer, she realized what it was. It was a group of warriors battling a lone giant.

She drew her axe and the dagger, but immediately stopped herself when she recognized the male warrior. Shoulder-length black hair, steel armor, Skyforge greatsword...

And fighting alongside him was an Imperial woman, and an archer shooting the beast from a distance. The archer was wearing armor that was unmistakeable.

_Shit..._ Viana cursed under her breath. Three of the people who would soon hate her forever. Even more than before.

She ducked behind the stone wall that bordered the road. Crouching, she slowly made her way up the road, watching the three Companions, making sure they didn't notice her. While she was busy watching them, she didn't notice the guard right behind her and bumped into him. She screamed, and shot straight to her feet. The guard turned to her and looked down at her.

"Mind yourself! What are you hiding from, that giant? The Companions are taking care of it." He said. Viana could only nod and mumble an apology. The guard huffed in response.

Viana moved around the guard and turned around to look at the three warriors again. As she faced the farm, she did not expect to see them finished with their giant ordeal- or standing directly in front of her. She jumped back, gasping.

"Hello, _Viana._" Farkas said, crossing his arms. Viana froze for a second, but came to her senses.

"Hello, Farkas. Fancy seeing you three here." She said nonchalantly.

"Don't play innocent, Viana. What are you doing back in Whiterun?" Aela asked with a huge scowl on her face.

"I'll have you know I'm delivering important news to Jarl Balgruuf. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

"You don't get off that easily. You knew there was a chance you would run into us. What's the _real_ reason you're here?" Ria demanded, hands on her hips.

"Shut up, Ria. That is the only reason I am in Whiterun. And yes, I knew there was a chance, and I hoped to not run into you milk-drinkers. I'm also sure you hoped to never see me again, either. Now, if you will _excuse me..._" Viana said through clenched teeth, and turned away before the three could respond.

_Damn it... Now they know I'm here. This won't be as easy,_ she thought.

She walked past the stables and over the drawbridge, and as she was about to open the city gates, a guard stopped her.

"Halt! The city's closed with the news of dragons about. Official business only." He said sternly.

"That's why I'm here. I have news of the dragon attack to report to Jarl Balgruuf." Viana said.

"Alright, fine... But I've got my eye on you." He said. She thanked him and walked into Whiterun.

When she stepped inside the gates, she immediately felt a wave of nostalgia hit her. She remembered visiting her sister here, playing with her nephews and niece. As she recalled the memories of her family, a lump formed in her throat. She quickly swallowed and shook her head.

_No, there's no use crying. Can't let people think you're weak. That's what Pa always said..._

She turned left, in order to get to Dragonsreach quicker and avoid the three Companions she had encountered. Walking past the Gildergreen, she heard Heimskr, the priest of Talos, shouting something about the Thalmor.

_Fool..._ Viana thought, and rolled her eyes. She glanced at the mead hall Jorrvaskr, and a slight feeling of longing hit her. The werewolf shook her head, and continued on through the Winds District. She walked up the large steps leading towards Dragonsreach, passing a few guards who gave her suspicious looks.

Once she stepped inside, the loud bang of the front doors sounded, and the distant chatter immediately stopped.

"Irileth, go see who's here." Viana heard a man's voice- who she guessed was Jarl Balfruuf- order.

"Yes, my lord." A deep, accented voice replied, who could only be Irileth. Footsteps sounded towards Viana as she ascended the short staircase. When she reached the top of the stairs, a Dunmer woman- Irileth- appeared. As soon as she saw Viana, she drew her sword.

"Who are you, and what business do you have interrupting the jarl's court?" Irileth demanded.

"I have news of the dragon attack, and requests for a guard post at Riverwood." Viana replied.

The Dunmer housecarl frowned even more, hesitating. Finally, she sighed and sheathed her sword.

"Fine. But keep your weapons sheathed in the jarl's presence." Irileth said. She led Viana up the steps and towards the jarl's throne. She went back to Balgruuf's side and the other stayed at a respectful distance.

"State your business." The jarl said.

"A dragon destroyed Helgen. Gerdur, of Riverwood, wishes to have reinforcements sent there in case one attacks her village." Viana said.

The jarl stayed quiet for a moment, assessing the situation. He sat slouched in his throne, head supported by his hand.

"Irileth, send a detachment to Riverwood tomorrow morning. We can't have our lumber mill destroyed, now can we?" The man finally said.

"Yes, my Jarl." Irileth said.

Balgruuf turned back towards Viana.

"Before you go, I have a job you may be good for. If you'll follow me, please..." He said. He rose from his throne and walked down the stairs, into a room to the left. In the room was a man in purple Mage robes leaned over a desk.

"Farengar? I think I have found someone to solve your dilemma."

The Mage- Farengar- looked up from his work. He looked from Balgruuf to Viana, and raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, yes... I have been looking for a capable warrior to help me with my research. Would you consider yourself a warrior, a fighter?" Farengar asked.

Viana hesitated a moment, considering whether or not she'd be called a "warrior".

"Of the sorts..." She said. The Mage lifted his eyebrow even more in suspicion.

"Are you capable of yourself in battle?"

"I survived Helgen, what do you think?"

Farengar's mouth dropped slightly in surprise.

"H-Helgen..? Well, if that is the case, you _will_ be the perfect person for this job."

"Well, maybe if you'd tell me what it is..." Viana said annoyed.

"Oh, right, of course. I seem to have uncovered an ancient stone tablet, called the Dragonstone. My sources are to remain a secret, mind you. This stone tablet is inscribed with a map of dragon burial sites. With the new dragon attack, this information will be truly valuable. I need someone to obtain it. I would do it myself, but it is hidden in an ancient Nord tomb. Bleak Falls Barrow, to be exact. If you can do this task for me, I will be truly grateful."

Viana pondered the offer for a minute.

"What's the catch?" She finally asked. When you're in her line of work, you learn to expect these things.

"Well, as you may know, Bleak Falls Barrow isn't the best place to just wonder into. There are a few- well, a lot- of draugr inside of the tomb. I'm not sure if you've dealt with these things before, but do be careful."

"That's nothing compared to what I've handled before. I can get that tablet for you."

The jarl spoke up then. "You're very confident in yourself. I like that. Both Farengar and I are truly thankful. And of course, he will give you pay for your trouble." Balgruuf said, eyeing Farengar. The Mage grunted.

"Yes, of course. Thank you for agreeing to do this. Now, I suspect you do this as soon as possible, so we can know if any more dragon attacks will happen."

"Don't worry. I will likely return with the Dragonstone later this week or next week. I do have other business to attend to." Viana said, and nodded at the two men. She walked out of the room, and headed towards the front doors. Before she opened them, however, a guard stopped her.

"Hey, wait- You look familiar. Do you live here, Stormcloak?" He asked.

"Stormcloak..?" Viana mumbled. Then she looked down at her armor and remembered she was wearing a rebel cuirass. "Oh, right. Um, no I'm not a resident of Whiterun."

"Are you sure? The other guards have noticed it too."

Viana tensed up. "Yes, I am sure. Now please, I must be going..." She said and pushed her way out the door before the guard could respond.

As she walked down the stone steps, she thought about the job she had to do. She would have to do it at night, or else she would most definitely be caught. She decided to rent a room at the Bannered Mare and go from there.

When she arrived at the inn, she walked to the bar and threw ten coins onto the counter.

"I need a room for tonight."

"Sure thing, right this way." Said the innkeeper, grabbing the coins. She led Viana up the stairs into a large room with a balcony overlooking the main floor.

When the innkeeper went back downstairs, Viana recalled how earlier she remembered her stern bosses and they would have her head if she didn't turn up soon without any word from her. Searcing the dressers and tables, she mentally wrote the letters she would right to both of them. When she found parchments and quills, Viana sat down at the table on the balcony and began to write.

_A,_

_ My return will be delayed. I have yet to complete the job, but tonight I plan to do so. I would have finished it earlier, but I ran into some rather interesting complications. I'm sure you've heard of what it was by the time you will have read this letter- I was at Helgen. You will get a much better explanation when I do return. I'm in Whiterun right now, and I still have to return to the Rift for my other business. I expect to be back in Falkreath by this Sundas. Expect good news soon._

_-Viana_

After re-reading the letter, she got the other parchment and started to write the second letter. Then, she stopped herself.

_I'm an idiot... I'm going there tomorrow, he won't even get the letter if I send it now. I'll just face him and tell him what happened._ Viana sighed and set down the charcoal. She stood up and folded the letter. Walking downstairs, she started to head out the door to search for a courier.

"Miss! Are you looking for a courier?" A young Imperial said suddenly, stopping her.

"Um, yes, actually. How did you know?" Viana asked.

"The parchment gave it away, I assumed it was a letter. But I happen to be a courier, I can deliver this for you. If you tell me where to go, I can leave right now."

"Oh, actually... How much will it cost to deliver to a, uh... Tree stump?"

* * *

After the courier left, Viana headed out to the market to pass the time. She had send the him to a tree stump in Falkreath Hold, which was the designated letter destination for her guild. Letters couldn't be sent directly to them, or else they would be discovered.

"Give me your money, Battle-Born!" Viana heard a little girl shout. She turned toward the sound and saw the girl standing in front of a boy, a little younger.

"Braith, I don't have any money!" The boy said.

"You'd better give me ten septims by tomorrow, Lars, or you'll get to feel my fist against your nose." The girl, Braith, demanded. Viana watched her storm away, then walked up to the boy.

"Why'd you let that girl bully you?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"W-what? She wasn't bullying me! I scared her off!" Lars said. Viana raised an eyebrow, and the boy sighed. "Fine, I admit it. Everyday she pesters me, and finds stupid things to bully me about! I can't stand up to her, and all the adults call me a milk drinker."

"First of all, you do need to grow a backbone." Viana said. Lars frowned and looked down. "But... I will help you get Braith to stop bothering you."

Lars looked up and smiled at her. "Really?"

"Yep. But I won't do it for you- you have to tell her yourself."

"But..."

"No 'buts'. I'll tell you what to say and I'll be standing close by. If it goes wrong, I'll jump in and help."

"But, I..."

"Do you want her to stop bothering you?"

"Yeah..."

"Then do what I say."

* * *

"Battle-Born! Do you have my money yet?" Braith demanded, even though it wasn't the next day yet.

"I'm not giving you my money, Braith." Lars said confidently, but his voice a little shaky. Braith let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Oh yeah? And why not?"

"Because I'm not gonna let you push me around anymore!"

"How are you gonna do that?"

"My family is really close with the jarl, so if you don't, I can have you sent off to Honorhall Orphanage!"

Viana mentally slapped her forehead._ Dammit, kid! I told you not to bluff!_

After Lars said that, Braith stepped back, slightly shocked. After a moment, she recovered and frowned. "Now you're just bluffing! You can't do that."

The boy's eyes widened, realizing he'd made a mistake.

"Admit it. You can't stand up for yourself, and you're going to have a bloody nose a day early!"

Then, Viana stepped in. She stood next to Lars and looked at Braith, arms crossed.

"I overheard you threatening my nephew. If you don't think we have enough power in this city to haul your arse off the Honorhall Orphanage, you're wrong. I suggest you pay _us_ ten septims or stop pestering Lars. Both would be best." She said threateningly, and Braith's eyes widened. The girl frowned and stormed away.

Lars turned to Viana. "By the gods! Thank you!"

"Yeah, don't sweat it." Viana said with a wink. Lars ran away grinning.

_That's why I'm never having kids,_ she thought.

* * *

Viana sat on the bench in the main floor of the Bannered Mare. She kept anxiously looking out the window, waiting for midnight to fall. The night was cloudless, so she could see the moon clearly. Tonight the moon was scheduled to be directly above at midnight, and it wasn't there quite yet.

She picked midnight to do her task because she knew from her time as a Companion that it was the time everyone in Jorrvaskr was asleep. Most of the warriors went to bed around nine o'clock, but Torvar always stayed up and drank all the mead until eleven. Viana wanted to wait an hour late to be sure they were asleep.

"Would you like a mug of mead, Miss?" The innkeeper asked.

"No, I'm good." Viana said, and the other woman walked off.

After a while longer of waiting, Viana looked out the window. To her surprise, she actually waited longer than meant to and saw that it was a little past midnight. Casually, she rose from the bench and walked up the stairs to her room. Most of the guests had gone to their own rooms, and the innkeeper was fixing to do so.

Viana closed the door and walked to her bed. She had laid her dagger on there earlier. She picked it up and put it in the holster next to her axe.

_Now's a good time as any to see what enchantment is on this dagger, s_he thought to herself. Checking to see the bartender had gone to bed by looking over the balcony, Viana quietly opened the door and crept out the door. She practically tip-toed, careful not to make any of the steps squeak. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she turned into the kitchen and headed out the side doors.

Slipping outside, she crouched down and searched for guards. There was one in the marketplace, standing outside the general goods store. Looking around more, she saw another walking down the steps from the Winds District. She crept along, careful not to step on any leaves or make any noise. Viana slipped behind a market stall and waited for the guard to pass. When she was sure no one saw her, she crept up the stairs and disappeared behind Heimskr's house. Jorrvaskr was to her right now. She slowly walked up the stairs leading to the mead hall.

The candles inside the windows seemed to be out, so Viana assumed that all of the warriors really were asleep. She kept crouching, creeping behind the building. The courtyard was in view, and she went over to the porch and climbed onto it, instead of using the stairs. She ended up in front of the double doors, and as she was about to open them, a cough suddenly sounded behind her. Viana jumped back, looking for the source.

"Come back to rob us, Viana? Or perhaps murder?" A deep, accented voice said. Viana squinted her eyes, still searching. Then, a figure appeared from behind a training dummy. Immediately, she recognized who it was.

_It's him._

"Vilkas..." She said through gritted teeth. "How did you know I'd be here?"

"Farkas, Aela, and Ria told me they saw you outside the city. Since you've been involved with your other businesses, I knew you were up to something. Plus, I could smell you." Vilkas snarled.

Viana stood there for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Then, she snarled and walked towards him, hand on her dagger.

"Well, Vilkas, you're still smart, like I remember you. But you've also dumbed down a bit. Perhaps your brother's traits rubbed off on you?"

As she insulted Farkas, Vilkas growled and unsheathed his greatsword. In a flash, he grabbed the collar of her cuirass and slammed her against the wall.

"Don't you dare insult my twin. And just what do you mean, _traitor?_" He demanded, tightening his grip in Viana, causing a small cry to escape from her lips. Then, she smirked at him.

"You've forgotten what happens to people who cross me." She said, and with that, kicked Vilkas square in the stomach. He doubled over, wheezing. "And you've guessed right why I'm here. But you probably didn't guess who I was sent for."

Vilkas recovered, and stepped back while readying his greatsword. "Oh really? And who might that be?"

"You!" Viana yelled, and lunged at Vilkas.

He swung his greatsword, but the other's intense training- with Vilkas himself all those years ago- allowed her to dodge it. She jumped up, giving him a roundhouse kick to the face. He staggered back, spitting out a tooth. He then swung the sword at her, which she blocked with her dagger and axe. They stood there for a moment, trying to push each other's weapons back.

Vilkas suddenly pushed back harder, causing the flat of Viana's dagger to slam into her forehead. She fell backwards, and landed on her back. She reached up to where she had been hit and felt blood. Wiping it off, she rose up.

Gaining enough energy, she swiped we dagger and axe quickly at him, spinning at the final swing. On the first swings, her weapons made contact with only Vilkas' sword, but when she spun and swung, the enchanted dagger sliced his bicep. Blood started gushing out. Suddenly, a red light emitted from the gash and flowed into the dagger. As it did, Vilkas staggered back, dropping his sword as he clutched his wound.

Then, Viana noticed his eyes becoming heavy. Soon, he was reduced to all fours, as his energy drained. In awe, Viana looked at we dagger.

_It drains health..._ she realized.

"You coward! I knew you were low, but not enough to enchant your damned weapon!" Vilkas spat.

"What, upset that you've finally lost, Vilkas? Are you accusing me of cheating? Hah! You've always been immature."

As the wounded tried to get up, Viana kicked him onto his back and crouched down over him. She raised her dagger over her head and glared down at him. Just as she was about to strike, Vilkas spoke.

"Why? Why are you doing this? Have you no pride anymore?" He choked.

"I have my pride. You never appreciated it. You never gave me the fucking time of day. You thought I was weak, a coward. But guess what? _I_ am stronger than you. I can finally get you back for all those years. I loved you. When I told you how I felt, you avoided me. You practically ripped my heart out, you _bastard._ And, no, I was not the one who made this contract to kill you. I'm not telling who it was. But when my leader gave me the task to kill you, I was relieved. Overjoyed, in fact. I've been waiting for the chance to get back at you." She spat.

"And killing me is the best way to do that?" Vilkas questioned.

"No, I admit. I wanted you to suffer. I was originally going to kill Farkas, to take away the thing you care most about. But once I received the contract to kill you, I had no other choice."

After she said that, rage filled Vilkas' eyes. In return to her harsh words, he spat on Viana's face. She flinched, and wiped it off. Then, she lowered the dagger to his neck.

"You always did fight until the end." She whispered.

Closing her eyes, she finished the job.


End file.
